Jol defends tactics after Spurs drawn in

Short of another defeat, this was the last thing Martin Jol needed - his team throwing away a match they could and should have won by a decisive margin, and the manager himself coming under scrutiny for a controversial substitution that quite clearly contributed to Fulham pulling a point out of the fire.

When, after 67 minutes, Jol called off Robbie Keane, the player who had arguably done most to enable Tottenham to establish a 3-1 lead, they were so much in control it looked to be merely a question of how many they would win by. But instead of Keane's replacement, Jermain Defoe, helping to cement this advantage, as the manager intended, Fulham were offered the encouragement and incentive to mount a late rally. They seized it gratefully, with Alexey Smertin reducing the arrears and Diomansy Kamara striking a spectacular 90th-minute equaliser.

Jol not only defended his decision, but, bizarrely, maintained his captain deserved to be replaced. 'I didn't think he had the best of games, even though he was involved in two goals,' Jol said. 'He wasn't happy, but he shook my hand and didn't say anything. He knows Defoe and [Darren] Bent are part of the squad. Defoe was hungry to get on and I thought, with all the space we had, he would be able to take advantage. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn't.

'It was amazing we ended up with only a point. We hit the post and had one cleared off the line. But we have to cut out the mistakes we are making. We should have defended better the throw-in that led to their third goal.'

Lawrie Sanchez, who has brought in 15 new players during the summer and spent around £25m, said: 'They probably felt the game was wrapped up and could afford to give someone a rest. But Defoe for Keane isn't such a bad switch, is it?

'When you are playing a team of this quality, there will be times when you are up against it. We rode our luck and have dragged ourselves up by our fingertips in a game Tottenham should have put away. But we have shown that 90 minutes of hard work and graft can bring rewards.

'There have been a lot of changes at this club. We have had to rebuild because things had got a little stale. Now we have four months for the new players to bed in and prove they are good enough.'

Antti Niemi's return to Fulham's goal after a wrist injury was a bitter-sweet affair. With 10 minutes gone, the goalkeeper was all at sea when Keane delivered an inswinging corner and was fortunate to see it scrambled behind. He was not so lucky when Gareth Bale curled in a second one, from the opposite flank. Again, Niemi failed to make any contact with the ball, which, this time, dropped for Younes Kaboul to stab it over the line, from no more than a yard out, to open his Tottenham account.

Niemi then had to watch Paul Robinson get away with a blunder that could easily have led to an equaliser. Kamara was allowed to bring the ball through before eventually having his shot blocked and it broke wide to Hameur Bouazza. His cross was fumbled by Robinson, but Steven Davis drove his effort wide.

Tottenham swept further ahead when Niemi was beaten by genuine quality. Keane accepted a throw-in to volley a pass that released Dimitar Berbatov, running through the inside-right channel. The Bulgarian comfortably held off a challenge from Dejan Stefanovic and finished clinically.

Surprisingly, Fulham gained a foothold when Clint Dempsey rose above Pascal Chimbonda to head Simon Davies' corner powerfully past Robinson. But the danger posed by Berbatov persisted and, when the ball dropped into his path, 30 yards out, he almost lazily swung a boot and Niemi had to watch the resulting volley all the way before touching it over the crossbar.

Shortly afterwards, Niemi produced a flying save to keep out a 25-yarder from Jermaine Jenas, but he needed a touch of luck when a cross from the impressive Bale hit Keane and fell for Steed Malbranque, who struck a post.

But Tottenham, back in complete command, were not to be denied. Keane volleyed another pass through the Fulham defence and Bale showed admirable composure to go clear and place his shot wide of the goalkeeper for his first goal for the club. Only an acrobatic clearance by Chris Baird from Berbatov's shot prevented his side falling further behind.

Keane looked far from happy when Jol pulled him off midway through the second half, particularly as he then saw Smertin make it 3-2 with a shot that hit Ricardo Rocha and looped over Robinson. Kamara then scored an unlikely equaliser with a bicycle kick after Spurs failed to deal with a throw-in.

Man of the match Robbie Keane

From the moment he delivered the early corner that Antti Niemi struggled to reach, Tottenham's captain was an influential figure on a rousing game. He set up goals for Dimitar Berbatov and Gareth Bale with delightfully weighted passes and it was hard not to feel sympathy when he was substituted.